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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spring — the season
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — of water
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chest — a box
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. spring — a coil
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com